British Jews: A wake up call

British Jews and many other British nationals were shocked and dismayed with the outcome of last week’s general elections in the U.K.

Contrary to expectations, Conservative Prime Minister Theresa May emerged with a staggering defeat and Jeremy Corbyn’s Labor, which dramatically increased its number of seats in parliament by almost 10%, was almost neck to neck with the Conservative party. If she is not forced to stand down, May will seek to maintain her minority government by aligning with the Democratic Unionist Party of Northern Ireland.

It is a horrifying prospect that a man who publicly praises Hamas and Hezbollah as his “friends”, who attended a ceremony in Tunis commemorating the murderer of Israeli Olympic athletes, was employed by the state-controlled Iranian TV to present programs, and tolerated the proliferation of overt anti-Semitism in his party, was so close to being elected prime minister.

The recent spate of brutal terrorist attacks in London and Manchester must have stunned those British Jews who have been insisting that Islamic terrorism would never impact on the UK to the same extent as the rest of Europe.

The recent waves of anti-Semitism emanating from a combination of Left wing, liberal, Moslem and traditional anti-Semites, and the indifference of a substantial proportion of the electorate who voted for an overtly anti-Semitic leader, must surely switch on a clear red light for British Jews.

Since the return of Jews to Britain in 1656 in the Oliver Cromwell era, many claim that British Jews have fared better than in any other European country. Yet, the late Robert Wistrich, the greatest scholar of anti-Semitism, who was himself brought up in England, considered it to be the most anti-Jewish country in Europe.